Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A preview
of the second leg semifinals match between the Philippines and Singapore

thoughts and pic by rick olivares

The pressure is on Singapore for sure.

In three matches this year (including
friendlies), Singapore has yet to find the back of the net.

They have reacted and bristled at not
only the Philippines but also their own media. This reminds me of Vietnam and
how they reacted during the 2010 Suzuki Cup.

First, let’s check out what happened
in 2010.

In the group stages, then-Vietnam head
coach Henrique Calisto wonder aloud about scoring a bunch of goals against the
Philippines in the pre-tourney presscon. After the Philippines’ 1-1 draw with
Singapore, he sounds confident but preaches a little caution. In the
post-match, he talks of disrespect and picks a fight with the Philippines’ head
coach.

Cut back to this 2012 edition of the
Suzuki Cup.

In the pre-match press conference,
Singapore head coach Radojko Avramovic bristles at the no-show of Philippines
head coach, Michael Weiss. He also says that Phil Younghusband’s thoughts that
the Philippines can beat the Lions smacks of disrespect. Michael Weiss reacts
to Avramovic’s statement back in Manila.

In the pre-second leg press con,
Avramovic gets angry and says that questions about the Lions’ inability to
score against the Philippines are “negative thinking.”

Hmm. It is not. It is a legitimate
sports question. He also gets mad at a reporter and singles him out when he
asked about contentiousness between him and Weiss by saying, “You made it up.”

Very defensive answer and no, it was
not made up. Furthermore, it sounds so familiar. I wish I could pinpoint who it
is J.

In an article in the Straits Times,
several Singapore players called out Azkals midfielder Angel Guirado for
diving. “He’s a big strong guy but he dives too much,” Lions midfielder
Fahrudin Mustafic was quoted as saying.

Duric backed up his teammate by
saying: “He likes to go down easily. He is big, tall, and a strong guy but some
of the free kicks he won against us were questionable.”

The Lions also were referring to a
match incident in the Philippines’ home match where defender Daniel Bennett was
assessed a yellow card for what they call “an innocuous challenge” on Guirado.

After the Lions’ practice was cut
short by a huge downpour last night, Lions striker, Aleks Duric said: “It’s
about damn time that we score against them and they lose!” Of course he said
that with a smile and not like he was hot under the collar.

Added the ageless wonder: “We have
created a lot of chances. It just a matter of converting them. One goal is not
enough because there is danger if they score. We have to stake our claim early
in the match.”

Incredibly, former Malaysian national
player and current Harimau Muda head coach Ong Kim Swee (the Malaysian side
plays in the S.League) and finished second to champion Tampines Rovers) had
this to say about the Philippines: “I have been impressed with the Philippines
in group stages that I actually picked them to be in the finals. But give due
credit to Singapore. They managed a good result in the Philippines and now the
advantage is with them. But the Philippines is a tactically sound team that can
defeat them.”

The Philippines will have its hands
full against Singapore’s forward and secondary line that threatened greatly
with Duric dangerous as a poacher and in the air, Shahril Ishak frightening
when he gets within a few meters of the box, and with set piece specialist
Shaihful Esah whose deliveries have been on target.

Singapore has been deadly on the
wings. Mustafic has been solid for Singapore in a holding midfield position
where they switch to a stopper-sweeper formation in an attempt to deal with the
Azkals’ speed.

But the Azkals are no slouch on the
offensive end. They have been in this tournament a second half team. As team
manager Dan Palami opened up yesterday, there have been discussions with the
coaching staff about bringing their second half intensity to the first half
where a crucial first goal is massively important given how difficult it has been
to score in their head-to-head match-ups.

The Azkals have to find a way to
support Phil Younghusband on the attack and play in the same manner as they did
in the 2-0 win over Myanmar that solidified their semifinals entrance.

If Reichelt can threaten on the left
and James Younghusband play like he did in the Cebu match where he was highly
influential then the Philippines can put the Lions on their heels. The onus is
on the Azkals’ midfield to make their presence felt right away because that
will decrease the pressure on their back four and Ed Sacapaño.

The Philippines has shown a penchant
for scoring late goals but we aren’t the type that is good in coming back. A
first and early goal is a must if the finals dreams are to be achieved.

The substitutions are also crucial.
You do not want to bring a sub in too early in the event that the match goes
into extra time because fresh legs can make a difference. But then again, one
has to plugs any gaps lest they be exploited.

That means both Avramovic and Weiss
will have to do their best coaching today if they want to move on.

Expect both teams to push so as not to
send this into extra time or even in penalties.

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What I do for a living?

I work for Mindshare Philippines where I handle public relations (throw in a lot of marketing and activation ideas) for Gatorade and soon Mountain Dew and Quaker Oats.

I currently write regularly for Business Mirror; ph.nba.com; philstar.com; pba.inquirer.net; and abs-cbnnews.com. I also have been frequently contributing of late to FHM, Men's Health, SHOT, and Futbol Balita magazines. I have also written and contributed to a whole bunch of newspapers, magazines, and websites. Not to mention senate research papers.

I am the media officer for the Clear Dream Match, Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup and the National Basketball Training Center.

I do PR consultancy for a variety of clients that I do not want to divulge.

My blog, Bleachers' Brew, serves as a hub for many of my writings (but not all as there are some that are exclusive).

When I have free time, I listen to my collection of over 5,000 CDs, read, watch DVDs, or walk my dog around the subdivision.